By Matthew Willis

This summer, the Granville Island Cultural Society has started an unprecedented initiative to performance companies in Vancouver. On weekends throughout July and August, the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island will host a vibrant variety of live performances. We’ve listed the July shows here so check back with BeatRoute next month for shows in August.

The first show at the Waterfront Theatre this summer features Canada’s premier Mariachi group and their set of traditional Mexican folk music. With the flare of their guitars and colourful costumes, the trio will take the audience on a trip through the history and traditions of this Mexican genre of music.

A mash-up of musical comedy, Alice and Wonderland, and a fight against consumer culture, Capital, Alice! is a new play written and starring Emily Griffiths, Anoushka Ratnarajah and Lau Sequins. “Down the rabbit hole” becomes “into the mall” as Alice’s otherwise mundane retail job seems to transform into the bizarre, when brands and logos you love eventually threaten your life.

These Three ThingsPresented by The Page Theatre and Standing Room OnlyJuly 24-27, 8 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday matinee

Audiences will get three shows for the price of one on this weekend. Acrobats, by Israel Horovitz, depicts a married couple who, as acrobats, perform an intricate routine whilst in the middle of a domestic disagreement. Post-Its (Notes on a Marriage), written by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman, is also about a married couple and their relationship as it manifests itself on the post-it notes the husband and wife write for each other. Wiser, by Joe Hinks, is a one-man show about everyman Wiser, a man with a good taste for food but a distaste for puppies, and a moment in his life where one simple decision could push him down two divergent life journeys.